Maxim Rodshtein sole leader in Benasque

After five rounds, the only player that managed to keep a perfect score in the huge field is Israeli grandmaster Maxim Rodshtein. To get this impressive score, he had to defeat two strong GMs in the last two rounds.

His last win over experienced Ukrainian GM Viktor Moskalenko is worth studying. Rodshtein, playing with black, reacted actively to his opponent’s aggressive intentions in the opening; the result was a very sharp struggle where black’s passed b-pawn was the key factor in the result.